Expert: Bobby Soltani - 10/5/2005

Question
I have this problem to solve:

Movie theater sells 155 tickets.
Adults, $6.00 each
Children, $4.50 each

Total sales is $935.00

"What conclusion can be drawn?"

Is this 6x + 4.5y = 935?

How would I solve this?  

Answer
Hi Jay,

You are on the right track.

6x + 4.5y = 935
where x = number of adult tickets, and y = number of child tickets.

We need one more equation to solve the problem.  We know that 155 total tickets were sold, so we can write

x + y = 155
now, let's solve for x in terms of y.
x = 155 - y
plug this in for x into your first equation

6(155 - y) + 4.5y = 935
now we have an equation in only y, and can solve it.  Once you have solved for y, plug it into the equation x = 155 - y to solve for x.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Bobby